Adele 's new album 25 was finally released worldwide at midnight and after just a few hours - is already at number two on the iTunes chart in the UK.

The Hello singer confirmed only last month that her long-awaited third album would go on sale on November 20 and in just a few hours, it's officially become Adele Day as fans clamouring to get their hands on the new music.

There was some disappointment on Thursday though, when it was confirmed the album wouldn't be available for streaming on digital music services, including Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer.

In a statement about the decision, Spotify said: "We love and respect Adele, as do her 24 million fans on Spotify. We hope that she will give those fans the opportunity to enjoy '25' on Spotify alongside '19' and '21' very soon."

25 is Adele's first album since 2011's smash hit 21, which sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

It is expected to sell over one million units in one week in North America alone, according to Billboard Magazine.

The 27-year-old stepped back into the spotlight in recent weeks, in the run up to 25's release and spoke openly about why it had taken her so long to make a comeback.

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Speaking to Graham Norton in an hour-long special for BBC 1 - set to air tonight - the Grammy Award winner said: "It was that thing of, do I or don't I want to go back to my music," she says. "Obviously I do, and I just wanted to make sure that everything was in place for me to do it so I could do it properly.